The Maguindanao Tale of the Faithful Wife

(1)   Once there lived in the Sultanate of Bandiamasir an aged man who had an only son. They lived comfortably together until the time came for the boy to marry. He loved a girl from the same town but before he could make any arrangements, his father fell ill and was soon near death. He called his son to him and said “My son, never marry a balo (widow) but a raga (young lady).”

(2)   After his father died, the son made up his mind to find the meaning of his father’s advice and forthwith married a raga. But he married two other women as well: a balo and bituanem (divorce). As all three lived harmoniously together he kept puzzling over the advice left to him by his father.

(3)   One day a new Sultan ascended the throne as the old one had died. This new Sultan turned loose his magnificent rooster and then proclaimed that whoever touched it would be killed.

(4)   When the son heard of this decree he was very glad because now he had a way of testing his father’s advice. He caught the royal rooster and brought it home. Then he called his three wives, showed them the rooster and said: “Kill the rooster and cook it for my dinner.”

(5)   The three women turned pale when they realized the meaning of what he said. The balo and the bituanem immediately refused and hurriedly left the house, not wanting to be implicated in the crime.

(6)    The raga took the rooster, killed it and served it to her husband.

(7)   Then he knew what his father meant by his dying words. Only the raga could be faithful.

How The Philippines Got Asia's Worst Internet Service

By: Ralph Jennings

A traveler to the Philippines knows the dance too well. You check into a hotel that advertises Wi-Fi. Turns out it’s only available in the lobby, and only in the daytime. Then you learn of a freak service outage in the lobby. When you do eventually connect, no websites come up. On better days, each website takes a minute or two to load. Yes, on any kind of device.

The Philippines is Asia’s outlier for Internet sloth, but why?

Occasionally the answer is local. Your host might be afraid of keeping the router going 24 hours, for example. Or the hotel lacks money to extend Wi-Fi coverage to guestrooms. But more common explanations in the Southeast Asian country popular with foreign tourists are linked to economic development pains and awkward relations among providers. Obviously the issue isn’t limited to tourists. Gum in the Internet slows business for the nation of 102 million people. Oh, and apparently help is not on the way.

Here’s a schematic of how things don’t work.

The Philippines is made up of about 7,100 islands, making fixed networks particularly hard to build. Permits may be issued only at the smallest level of local government, and one by one. The government also charges “high fees,” a deterrent to any start-ups or foreign investors in broadband, said Fiona Vanier, senior media analyst with market research firm IHS Technology. Dominant broadband provider Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. controls much of the infrastructure, allowing it to charge fees higher than elsewhere in Asia despite a relatively poor population. The phone company goes on to charge other providers for traffic through its network as well, Vanier said, and the Philippines lacks Internet peering, which slows broadband speeds.

Most fixed-line Internet users still use old systems such as xDSL rather than newer fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) technology, reducing speeds, says market research firm IDC’s Southeast Asia senior telecom research manager Alfie Amir. Last year, IDC says, just 2% of fixed Internet connections in the Philippines were FTTH, compared to 33% across Asia excluding Japan.

High-speed service costs about $57 per month, more than in the United States, estimates Manila-based software technology entrepreneur Valenice Balace. After food, rent and education, that Internet bill “seems like a luxury,” she says. “Clearly, price would be the number one barrier for availing good internet speeds in the Philippines, since most people can’t afford it.”

Is Same-Sex Marriage Right?

By: Eppy Halili Gochangco

I decided to forego the usual question-and-answer format this time as I was invited by Dean Amado Valdez of the College of Law of the University of the East to attend a symposium on same-sex marriage.  The title of the symposium was Same-sex marriage: Is it right?  It was sponsored by the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP), the Rotary Club of Manila (RCM), and the University of the East College of Law and held last Feb. 14, Valentine’s Day, at the JBL Reyes Hall of the IBP Bldg., Ortigas Center.

I found this symposium interesting and would like to share the experience with all of you.

Reactors present were from different fields and there were lawyers, religious leaders from different beliefs, and a guidance counselor presenting data from psychological researchers.  The way I understood it was that the religious leaders were very much against same-sex marriage.  However, some were explaining that the person should not be condemned for being a homosexual.  What must be condemned is the act of homosexuality. 

One of the participants reacted aggressively to this statement.  I was not able to catch the name of this person and his religious affiliation.  But he was wearing a pastoral’s outfit.  He is gay married to a man.  He could not understand how people could separate the act of homosexuality from the person who is a homosexual.  He believes that the homosexual is one with his actions.

One male member of the audience came forward and introduced himself as a productive citizen, earning for himself.  He later admitted that he’s gay and married to a male.  Both he and his partner are productive and financially stable.  This man added that he had tried marrying a female but had failed.  He insisted that there was nothing much he could do but accept that he is gay and that he is meant to love another man.  This man became very emotional.  I could sense that he was already tired from the impositions of the world about how he should be as a man.

I can’t help but perceive that the issue of same-sex marriage may not necessarily mean that this is just an issue for the same-sex couple.  It could mean more than that.  We live in a judging world.  This is a world where the super powers dictate on how the less powerful should live their lives.  There are the authoritarians controlling the lives of everyone.

The white men enslaved the black men.  Later on, the black men stood up for their rights.  In the end, because of the determination of the black men to fight for their freedom, they were given equal rights like all men. 

Men overpowered the women, too.  Just like the black man, the women started fighting for equal rights.  Again, determination overpowered the powerful men and gave women their equal rights.  The black men, now called African Americans, are now equal to white men.  Women have equal rights, too, because they fought for these.

Now, the voices of the homosexual individuals (both men and women) are becoming louder and louder.  What I hear are homosexuals standing up and asking the superpower called the heterosexuals this question, May I live my life the way I want to? But the heterosexuals say, No, you may not.  It is not normal and you must follow. Just as the white men had to battle the black men, the men had to battle the women; the heterosexuals will now have to contend with the homosexuals.  Like women and the black men, the more the homosexuals will get equal rights, the more they will feel strongly about what they think they deserve because they are human beings, too.

Same-sex marriage is not only about what is right or wrong.  Same-sex marriage is only part of the process homosexuals have to go through to get an equal share of what life can give.  They are asking to have the same sunlight shining on their faces as the heterosexuals have and the same shade to go under when the sun is too strong. 

Honestly, I think the homosexuals and the heterosexuals do not understand each other.  When the homosexuals ask for equality, the religious and the moralists start fearing that there may not be any heterosexuals anymore one day.  Then the human specie will be no more because there will be no heterosexuals to procreate. 

Just as there will always be a homosexual, there will always be a heterosexual.  Everyone has nothing to fear.  In the end, we all have to live in peace and accept that everyone has rights and no one should think that they should have more than those who are different from them. 

While I Fast

By: lahipan

the day seemed shortened

by roles to portray and

quizzes to study

amidst an empty stomach

but, the day is longer

with too little work

for it leaves me counting—

two hours, nineteen minutes

left and counting only

draws me closer to a happiness

draws me closer to the kitchen

where I see Inah

boil water for soup, as she puts out

the baulu, and wadjit

from its hiding place

one hour and counting

draws me closer to a table

dressed in rainbow colored

little delicacies. i am counting

how many putli mandi to eat as my

grumbling stomach count with me

half an hour left, and strangely

i am counting men, women

and children whose empty stomachs

protest beyond sunset.

Without a choice, hunger accompanies

Them through night and day.

---------

Baulu: A Tausug pastry similar to a cupcake

Wadjit: glutinous rice cooked in coconut cream and brown sugar, usually

purple in color. It’s extra delicious when added with a durian or durian jam.

Putli Mandi: sweet rice balls filled with coconut shreds bathed in brown sugar

The Call

By: Everlyn Jaji

I could only remember

the softness of pillow,

the wind from the electric fan

finding its way through my pajamas

and the night

whose darkness never fails to drown

tired men and women to slumber—

before my eyelids

weakened by the day

shut

in peace.

And in the tranquil of the night

my soul is satisfied that it had hours

of visits to places and people

until

Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar

Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar…

It is the voice

from the nearby Masjid

mixing with the night air

penetrating through the windows

signaling the beginning of dawn.

Hayya ‘alas-Salah…

Prayer? But, the whispers tell me

the night is still long and my soft pillow

need not be abandoned this early.

Yes, still an hour before sunrise

Maybe, just a little more…

As-Salatu khairum minan-nawm…

my eyelids pulled open

as if the call became right beside my ears

my yearning for forgiveness

and for a day started with that meeting

also awoken

And thus, my body

parts from the inviting comforts of sleep

in search for the purifying water.

--------

Allahu Akbar: Allah is Great

Masjid: Arabic word for the place of worship of the Muslims

Hayya ‘alas-Salah: Come to Prayer

As-Salatu khairun minan-nawm: Prayer is better than sleep

For Those Who Are Still Naïve…..

WHY ARE “MOST” POLITICIANS CORRUPT?

By: Robert G. Valerio

THE irrepressible Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago came out with the reason for the mad rush for Senate seats, making them throw away millions, or rather hundreds of millions of pesos, just to be elected. People have always wondered: How in the world can anybody spend hundreds of millions of pesos for a position that yields only a monthly salary of P55,000.00.

Indeed, there must be something about a Senate seat or for that matter, Congressman/woman, or even a Provincial Governor, City Mayor or that of a City or Municipal Councilor! Is it really just public service, or is there something more?

***

Consider this: The spending limit for a senatorial candidate is P250 million, or P5 per registered voter. And there are more than 50 million registered voters.

Read this: Apart from the monthly P55,000 salary for a senator, there is a fixed monthly budget of P2.4 million for office and staff expenses, and an additional P760,000 in foreign travel and additional perks.

Listen to this: Some senators hardly travel abroad. When they do, they do not only use the travel budget. They ask for more, even pocket money. And they bring their spouses and children, secretaries and girlfriends, doctors or even yayas.

And how’s this? Each senator gets P793,000 a month for staff salaries and another P998,000 for office expenses such as rentals, utilities, supplies and domestic travel.

If a senator is a Committee Chairman, he or she gets a similar budget of what she gets as a regular senator. And there is no rule requiring senators to return the money that has not been used. This means they have the option of pocketing the excess cash.

Do we wonder then why people are just so eager to be senators? It beats winning a casino jackpot or winning a lottery—it’s all tax-free.

***

Now read this and weep: Above all the things I just mentioned, a senator is given P200 million PDAF out of the P1.71 billion Senate budget under the General Appropriations Act. Don’t kid yourself, there is still PDAF Funds – only it is called a different name now….

Sen. Santiago speaks of 10 percent kickback from public works contractor to be given awards for infrastructure and from other awarded contracts for livelihood projects, social services, like health and education. Miriam is being conservative. The usual kickback given goes as high as 30 to 40 percent for contracts pinpointed by members of Congress.

Do you understand now why everybody wants to be a lawmaker? And why candidates will do everything to woo the votes of people – dance, sing, do comedies (or “eat fire!”) on the stage during campaign, including spending money as though it were going out of style, just to get elected?

Doleouts to favored people are also unaudited. They are running for public service because their hearts bleed for the poor and needy? Aw, come on, don’t give me that BS.

They run because there’s a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, all at the expense of the Filipino people.

***

We come to the issue of politicians’ tendency to be corrupt. Now I talk of those running for local positions, like councilors, mayors, governors and congressmen.

Visit these politicians early in the morning, and you see hundreds of people lining up, waiting for the official to wake up so that they can ask him for doleouts. Money with which to travel to Manila, to treat a sick son or wife, to send a son or daughter to school, to cover burial expenses, to furnish the basketball team with uniforms, and so on.

Santa Banana, the needs of the people are endless. They all expect a congressman, governor or mayor to solve all their problems.

And where do you think these politicians will get all the money asked from them? From overpriced government contracts, from kickbacks, from the P70-million pork barrel of members of Congress, from overpriced school supplies that a congressman or a governor awards for public school and from payrolls of ghost employees. And from so many other scams nationwide.

There’s a Metro Manila mayor, for instance, who has hundreds, if not thousands in his “15-30” payroll, who collect them only on the 15th and 30th of every month, but whose mission is for each of them to take care of every 50 families in their barangays. Neat, huh? No wonder he’s always re-elected.

I say that if politicians become corrupt, blame partly the people who expect them to dole out patronage to them. It’s a symbiotic thing—the people seeking doleouts and the politicians expecting their support when election time comes. And that comes every three years.

That’s why I say that we expect the kind of public officials we elect—public officials who are not only hypocrites who cry out to high heavens that they only want to serve, but are in fact corrupt.

…..

Now, that the PDAF scam/scandal has been thrown in the open – we read, hear, watch these on TVs, monitor in the facebook, twitter, internet sites, You tube – but these are all in the national level! Nevertheless, every Filipino did react, stood up and be counted!

What about in the local scene? Do we know the stories behind the local officials? How much is the budget allocation for City or Municipal Councilors? How much is for research? Do they really conduct research? If so, where are the “reports”? Are Ordinances enacted backed-up with data, figures, statistics, and facts about the matter being deliberated in the legislative body? I have seen a Legislative Body passed FOUR (4) ORDINANCES ALL IN ONE DAY SESSION – from First Reading to Final Approval??? Only in the Philippines…..

How much is the MOOE? On a per Councilor basis? How much traveling is being done in one year? What are the purposes of these travels? How much is the gasoline budget allocation per official?

How much is the budget allocation for the City Mayor? How much is the “Intelligence Funds”? How much is the Discretionary Fund of these Officials? The Assistant Regional or the Regional Director of a National Department Agency has Discretionary Funds to use. What more for these local officials of LGUs being an autonomous under the LGC! Let‘s not be naïve about these matters? I know, I used to be a Director myself….

Do the LGUs Officials publish these costs to the Filipino People in this part of the country? Why are they not publishing these Expenses at the end of the year? If they really are transparent, if they really want to be transparent and that they have nothing to hide, then they should! Dapat Lang…..

That is the anatomy of un-transparency in governance, which is the start of CORRUPTION in the Philippines.

--------------------------------

Corruption in the Philippines is very serious. Be sensitive! Be bothered! Be involved in the eradication of graft and corruption in all aspects, even in the private sector --- petty, small or large scale!

---------------------------------

Ehemplo is a call of people dedicated to live a life of honor, integrity and good examples. Ehemplo is based on espousing Ehem -- the urgent call for cultural reform against corruption.

Ehem aims at bringing people to a renewed sensitivity to the evil of corruption and its prevalence in ordinary life. It seeks ultimately to make them more intensely aware of their own vulnerability to corruption, their own uncritiqued, often unwitting practice of corruption in daily life.

Ehem hopes to bring people, in the end, to a commitment to live the way of Ehemplo --- critical of corruption, intent on integrity!

The Parable of the Hero

By: Juan M. Flavier

Three brothers had an over-riding obsession to become heroes of the barrio. They looked at every happening as a chance for some act of courage worthy to be hailed as heroes. But the more they persisted, the less the occasion presented itself.

They even practiced swimming in the hope of saving a drowning person as a heroic feat.

One day the three brothers joined a hiking trip. On the way, they crossed a bridge and below were children swimming in the river.

Suddenly, someone shouted that a girl was drowning. The moment of truth had come. But instead of jumping, the three brothers stood-frozen with fright  (naninigas sa takot).

Meanwhile, Carling another young lad splashed into the river and saved the girl.

A court of honor was held to pin a medal of courage on Carling. He was publicized and acclaimed far and wide for his feat and presence of mind.

At home, the three brothers sat around the sala brooding over their lost rare opportunity at heroism.

“Why did we not jump into the water?” asked the youngest almost to himself and no one in particular.

“How is it I just stood there and watching instead of jumping into the river to save the girl?” muttered the second.

“No use wondering,” said the oldest of the three brothers. “Let us go see Carling and ask him what flashed (namutawi) into his mind and what decisions he made prompting him to act courageously and save the girl and hence be hailed as a hero.”

“Let’s do that!” shouted the two younger boys.

So the searched out Carling for an in-depth interview and analysis of the thoughts and processes in the making of a hero.

It was difficult to corner Carling alone as everyone wanted to talk to him. Finally, the three brothers succeeded in pulling Carling to a side of the school building for a heart-to-heart talk.

“Carling,” began the oldest, “we admire and envy you for the courage and heroism. We want to be like you so please teach us.”

“I’d be happy to do what I can help,” answered Carling in a low and hesitant voice.

The three looked at each other and the oldest went direct to the point. “Tell us please, Carling, what made you jump into the river?”

Carling hesitated as though reluctant to reveal his secret. The three waited anxiously.

“Well,” replied Carling in a measured way, “up to now I am still trying to find out who pushed me into the river.”

“But why did you save the girl if you were just pushed?”

“Basa na rin lang, nagpakabayani na ako (I was already wet so I decided to be heroic)!”